VT conducted a 5 day summer camp for kids from 21st May to 25 May at PSGR Krishnammal College
The camp started with a prayer by Prajna kids and lighting of the lamp by the guests. The deans of the college were the guests for the event.
Sriman Adiyen Ji welcomed the chief guests and briefed them about Prajna and other service activities like Mahila Arogya Vikas and Swarnaamrutha Prashana.
Sriman Adiyen Ji also explained to them, about numerous other spiritual and service activities at JIVA, specifically emphasising the Statue of Equality project.
On the first day of the summer camp, programs like sloka recitation, traditional games like Paramapatham and pallanguzhi were conducted for the kids. The kids participated with lot of enthusiasm and excitement. They enjoyed the program very much.
After a break for refreshments, the kids had yoga and story-telling sessions. The life, teachings and services of Sri Ramanujacharya Swami was curated by Sriman Adiyen Ji using PPT software.
The second day started with the chanting of slokas followed by a WOW activity session! The WOW is a program where kids are taught interesting facts about ways to protect and preserve Mother Nature. As part of the WOW program, Ms. Vinaya showed the kids how to make dustbin liners using old newspapers in place of polythene bags. The kids enjoyed the WOW, and turned very creative with the ‘dustbin-liners’ activity.
During the story session, Smt. Ramaprabha narrated the Pre:mamayi story through PPT software and taught the kids, the importance of Mother in our lives. This was followed by the yoga session – conducted by yoga master Sriman Babu Ravindran .
On the third day, Smt. Jayalakshmi and Smt. Swapna taught the kids how to string flowers, and how to make garlands and Thoranams (hanging decorations).
The story for the day was “Mother-the Panacea” -which the kids listened with rapt attention! Soon after a short break, the kids participated in Yoga.
On the fourth day – after the regular prayers and slokas the WOW program presumed with an interesting activity by Ms Vinaya. The kids were taught to make carry bags out of old T Shirts, instead of plastic/polythene. Later, a fancy dress competition was conducted for the kids – the theme being Sri Ramanujacharya Swami.
The videos and photos of the event are posted below.
On the fifth day of the Summer Camp, sloka reciting competitions and the quiz programs on the life of Sri Ramanujacharya Swami, were conducted. Parents were invited to watch their kids’ performance. The chief guests were immensely pleased with the Summer Camp and showered their appreciations on the little kids who showed great interest in learning good things and responding to the call to protect Mother Earth.
This is indeed one of the important missions conceived by Sri Swamiji and that is – “Realize & Respond”
As responsible citizens, we need to learn and in turn teach our generations, the importance of living in a society with a sense of love & care for the people and our surroundings including the animals and plants.
The camp, then ended with a valedictory function that involved prize distribution for winners by the chief guest Swami Ganesha Swaroopaaananda. The deans of the college distributed certificates and fruit tree saplings to all the children who participated in the camp.
A wonderful talk about the importance of trees was given by Ms.Priyadarshini who belonged to a trust that is involved in tree planting.
Few children and their parents expressed their interest in attending weekend Prajna classes. Lunch and refreshments were provided for everyone. The registration fee for the students was ₹500/- per child. There were 36 registrations for the camp.
The money gathered for the camp, goes towards the Statue of Equality project Sriman Adiyen Ji has sponsored for the expenses of the camp including the tree saplings. Smt. Jayasree Shantharam supported the camp by sponsoring the snacks on the final day.
The whole team involved in the camp organization, were very happy at the outcome and felt blessed by Acahrya, for having got the opportunity to serve HH in this way.